Oregon's $150.4 million Powerball winner comes forward

Posted Jul 13, 2018

Richard Van Slyck, the Oregon State Manager for Circle K Inc., accepted a $100,000 check from Oregon Lottery on Friday for selling the winning ticket. Steven Nickell did not attend the press conference.(Hannah Boufford/staff)

Steven Nickell, a lifelong Salem resident, is the winner of a $150.4 million Powerball jackpot after he carried the winning ticket around in his wallet for two weeks.

Oregon Lottery officials announced at a Friday morning press conference that Nickell would receive a lump sum of nearly $61.7 million after taxes. He won the June 20 drawing and discovered the winning ticket July 1.

Chuck Baumann, a spokesperson for Oregon Lottery, said when Nickell plays the lottery, he tends to let his tickets collect. After eating a burger for lunch one day, Nickell checked his tickets and discovered he would need to go to the lottery office to collect his winnings because he had won at least $600.

He returned home from lunch and worked on his deck before checking his tickets online to find out exactly how much he won.

"At first I felt guilty I won," he said in a news release. "Then I realized that I'm the guy that gets to stand up and say BINGO! We all play the game, it just so happens I'm the guy who got to win this time."

Baumann said the main thing Nickell wanted to do with the money was take care of his family, which includes a wife and daughter.

"He's trying to sort out, obviously having lived in Salem his entire life, you know, he'd probably like to stay here," Baumann said. "But his life is a little different now having won $150.4 million."

Nickell purchased the ticket from the Circle K on Liberty Street in Salem. His win marks the fifth time a Powerball jackpot winner has had a ticket sold in Oregon. It is the third largest Oregon Lottery win since the organization started in 1984.

Baumann said he believes the money should be wired to Nickell sometime Monday.

At the press conference, Richard Van Slyck, the Oregon State Manager for Circle K Inc., accepted a check for $100,000 from Oregon Lottery for selling the winning Powerball ticket. Nickell did not attend the press conference.